Another Day, Another Upset
Aga Radwanska is the latest victim of this year's topsy-turvy Roland Garros. She fell to Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets. With that upset, the top three seeds on the women's side are all out. The good news is that on the women's side, we're running out of top seeds to be upset.
Serving Up Bagels
In the pro ranks there's usually not a whole lot separating the players—even top pros from journeyman—so 6-0 sets aren't exactly common. Stringing two 6-0 sets together in a straight set win is even less common, but that's exactly what Sharapova did in her third round win over Argentinian Paula Ormaechea yesterday. Sharapova's win can really only be described as a comprehensive destruction of her opponent. The match took just 51 minutes and Sharapova lost only 17 points through the whole match—including only three in the second set. Ormaechea managed only one winner during the whole match. With the departure of so many other seeds, Sharapova was probably feeling pretty good about the tournament even before the match, but dishing out a thumping like that sure helps your confidence too.
Tiebreak Titan
John Isner continues to live by the tiebreaker. Through three rounds Isner has played 11 sets, 8 of which have been decided by a tiebreaker. He's won six of those tiebreakers, including going two for three in yesterday's win over Robredo. Isner also added 17 more aces to bring his tournament total to 75.
Don't Blink
Federer and Djokovic both advanced to the fourth round with wins yesterday over dangerous opponents, but they didn't come through unscathed. Both players blinked and dropped a set in a tiebreaker to their opponents, before going on to victory. Federer defeated Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-4 while Djokovic topped Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4. Federer will next face off against the mercurial but vastly talented Ernests Gulbis. Djokovic will face hard-hitting Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tomas Berdych and John Isner were both also stretched to four sets by Bautista Agut and Robredo, respectively; Berdych and Isner face each other in the fourth round.
Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis advanced to the fourth round with a straight sets victory over Czech veteran Radek Stepanek. Ernie has long been a bit of an enigma and he hasn't always maximized his talent, but he's also well known for strong opinions that he has no problem vocalizing. He ruffled some feathers again yesterday in his post-match presser when a reporter asked him if his tennis-playing younger sisters might also become professional tennis players. Ernie responded, saying "Hopefully they're not going to pursue a professional tennis career, because for a woman it's tough and I wouldn't like my sisters to become professional tennis players. It's a tough choice of life. A woman needs to enjoy life a little bit more. Needs to think about family. Needs to think about kids. What kids you can think about until age 27 if you're playing professional tennis. That's tough for a woman, I think." The exact intention of his remarks isn't totally clear, but it's gotten plenty of people upset. Either way, this isn't the first time Ernie's mouth has gotten him into trouble.